Silent Pieces of Time
by Demetria Nightshade
Summary: Eponine has died upon the Barricade though she is not lost. Her ghost stays on Earth,unable to be heard or seen, for one year watching over Marius. Please read and review. Genre 2 would be 'Healing' if that were an option. Ongoing
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

A shot through the darkness, a brutal agony in my chest, the feeling of blood running down my stomach: no exactly the best last minutes. Climbing the barricade, desperate to see his face once more, I was shot. _Marius, oh Marius _was the only thought my foggy brain could compose and at that moment I felt my soul take fire, giving me the last burst of determination I would ever feel. I heaved myself over the barricade almost cascading over the other side but for the hands that steadied me.

"Good God, 'Ponine have you no fear. Have you seen my beloved? Why have you come back here?"

"Took the letter like you said, I met her father at the door," I managed to get out before my legs collapsed.

"Eponine! What's wrong?"

I fell but he caught me and slid down into a sitting position. He cradled my head against his chest and it was so easy to imagine this as an embrace between lovers. My heart twisted in pain. He was not, nor shall he ever be, mine.

I heard Marius gasp, and looking up I saw his eyes looking down, down to my ragged, bloody shirt.

"Help! Please I need help!" I heard Marius shout, though it felt like I was under water for his voice seemed distant.

"Don't you fret M'sieur Marius," I breathed, "I don't feel any pain."

I felt soft beads of rain kiss my face gently. My mind was fading, and with all of was me there was left I sighed, "I love…you…Marius."

I felt my body go limp, my heart slow, and, in my mind's eye, saw the flowers grow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1- Awakening

I felt like I was floating in a pool of cool water; like I was submerged in it. Sightless and unable to hear I had no comprehension of time or place. Suddenly, with a shocked gasp, my eyes opened and I was blinded by the light swinging above my head.

Glancing around I could recognize the Café where many the men at the barricade had met to plan their revolution. My lungs filled with air and I could make out the sounds of moaning voices around me. I sat up hastily and almost buckled. _Whoa! Headrush!_ I thought and, being careful to go slowly, rose from the floor where I had been laid, probably by Grantine or perhaps even Marius himself. Looking around I could see bloody masses all around me, the faces of many were twisted in agony while too few women tried to nurse far too many men. Almost all of the women's faces were hopeless and overcome. More than one holding hands with one of the men, not breaking his gaze, not even to blink.

I stumbled backward out of the Café, out of the overwhelming atmosphere of misery that choked the small Café. I looked round and could make out the silhouette of the lowly barricade and began towards it. As I got closer, I could tell that there was a lone figure sitting by an ammo box: Marius.

He was trembling and wringing something in his hands. With a shock I realized that Marius was _crying_. His frame trembled with soundless sobs as he clutched my brown cap in his hands. "Marius," I called, "Stop crying! I'm alright. See, look Marius look at me." I held out my arms beside me and gestured for him to look at me. He didn't respond so I decided that maybe a sharp blow to the arm might bring him to his senses.

As I went to hit him, I noticed that my arm was very, very pale, almost gray to be certain. When my fist should have hit his arm, my hand passed harmlessly through his limb. Looking down, I could see the ground beneath my shoes, Marius' shirt through my arm. I was completely transparent, almost like a-"Whoa, slow down Eponine!" I said aloud before I could even say the word 'ghost'. "Ok, relax. You're probably just seeing things; after all you lost of blood girl. Maybe I'm dreaming." Though it probably wasn't socially acceptable to talk to oneself aloud, right know it sort of seemed like necessity, like this was needed to work out the strangeness of this situation. A logical though came to me and I attempted to pinch myself, though to my horror I could not grasp the flesh of my arm. I tried and tried again, but my hand just kept passing through. At that moment I was forced to accept the truth: that I was no longer living. I fell to the floor beside Marius and wept softly next to him.

Suddenly I heard a voice, a voice warm, gentle but sad. "Child," the voice whispered. I was expecting to see God or maybe Jesus, but instead I saw a woman in a pale white dress. "Child, why do you weep?'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2-Lessons

I thought she was talking to Marius because if Marius could not hear me I doubted this woman could see me. Her eyes were soft and gentle and her person was graceful, but she was pale and gray.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, scrambling to my feet, "You're like me!"

The woman smiled gently and though she was a ghost like me and translucent, her eyes were bright and lively. Looking into them, I felt something warm and bright in my hollow chest.

"Yes my child, I am like in you. I am not living, but I am unlike you in the sense that I did not die before my time." She responded sadly, her eyes mournful.

At that time, I remembered something Marius told me in another life (so it seemed): "The eyes are the windows to the soul." And if this woman's were the window to her soul, I could not imagine a kinder, better, and gentle soul in the entire world. The woman spoke again and her voice was soft

"Èponine Thénardier-"I flinched as she mentioned my father's surname, "-Child, why do you shudder when I say your father's name?" she asked, her eyes inquisitive. I took my time carefully wording my answer.

"My father is a cruel and dreadful man; I am ashamed to be his daughter. I am not his daughter." He had made that one fact abundantly clear during the night at Rue Plumet.

"Your father is a cruel man though that is not for either of us to judge, it is plainly his nature. It is who he is. I should know for he was unfair and cruel to my only child, my daughter." Her voice faded softly towards the end and she shut her eyes tightly as if holding back tears.

My eyes flashed to her face and something about it stirred a memory, a small child sitting in a corner, sweeping the floors at her parents Inn. At that moment, like a puzzle piece being put into place, I understood. "You are Cosette's mother." I could not decide if it was a statement or a question.

The woman looked at me and as I met her eyes, I could never remember seeing such agony in anyone's eyes in my whole life. Her eyebrows pulled up and once again she was holding back tears.

"Yes, Cosette is my child and I am Fantine. I gave her to your parents to keep for me while I searched for work, and looking back that was the single biggest mistake of my whole life, and trust me; I have made a great host of mistakes."

I could not imagine Mademoiselle Fantine making any mistakes for she seemed so pure and loving. _If anything_ I thought _this woman should be in heaven so why does she linger in a world full of hate, loss, and grief._

"Because there is also love, hope, and light," answered Fantine as if she could read my thoughts. "And because I choose to stay on Earth to take all girls who die before their time to Heaven. Being deprived of the chance to be mother had made me want to help all the young girls I can. Though I am saddened for I could never be a mother to Cosette." Her voice began to fade and her eyes glazed over as she was lost in a memory. "Sometimes I see my Cosette," she whispered, "she seems happy and well and for that I am grateful. She has a father now and though he is not her true father, I have never regreted my decision to give her to him."

As I looked at her I could she shimmering tears running down her faintly glowing face.

"Now," she said rousing herself from her reverie, "You have two choices, young Èponine. You may either go to Heaven-"

"I can go to Heaven?" I asked, interrupting her in the process. After all I had done in this life…

"Yes," she smiled, "You may go to Heaven, but you have another option. You may stay on Earth for one year if you want to see loose ends tied," she said.

I understood. Leave this sad world and never know loss or solitude ever again, or stay here and watch over Marius, the boy I loved. I knew what I would choose. I had never been so sure of anything in my whole life as I looked into Fantine's motherly eyes, "I will stay."

**A/N-My high school did a production of Les Miserables and I fell head over heels in love with it. I love most of the actors in the 25****th**** Anniversary Concert in London. Please leave a review if it tickles your fancy or just silently read this. More reviews= more updates. Hugs! **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3- Agony

Just as quickly as she had disappeared Fantine vanished, but I felt a warm breeze that seemed to blow through me warming my heart. I smiled to myself and knew that see was, and always would be, with me.

I roused my foggy brain and looked around. To my surprise, Marius was still weeping. This only surprised me because it seemed like I had been talking to Fantine for an hour at least, though I guess it must have only been a couple of minutes.

Enola's walked over to Marius and pulled him to his feet, then grasped his shoulder firmly and met his eyes. He seemed to say, "Come on, Marius. We have to work. Do you want her death to be in vain?" It was good to know that someone was going to pick Marius up now and again, like I used to. When Enjolras went off to make sure the other men were in their positions Marius walked over to the barricade and grabbed his gun that rested against it. I noticed that he never once let go of my hat, and that he wrapped it around the barrel of his gun. He took a deep breath and rested against the barricade.

Many of the men's wives or women or children came out of nearby houses or cafés bearing drink and bread. Not much to anyone's surprise, Grantine snatched two for himself, winked at the woman, and then sauntered over to his place behind the barricade. The men went to the women like birds to a worm and quickly embraced their lovers or children. Some exchanged kisses but most simply held each other.

Suddenly, I realized that the women did not expect the men to last the night, and I saw these exchanges with new eyes: they were goodbyes. Slowly, they began to fall to the ground and fell asleep in each other's arms. The women and men began to sing a mournful melody of love and death.

Then Marius sang, "Do I care if I should die now she goes across the sea? Life without Cosette means nothing at all. Would you weep, Cosette, for me?" At that moment, Marius fell asleep next to the barricade. An old man rose, and I recognized him as Cosette's adopted father, and sang to God a prayer that he would not take Marius for he was young and only a boy. It was not him time, but then again, did that mean anything. Hours passed and the sky began to slowly lighten, though clouds obscured the sun.

Enjolras had not slept at all but suddenly shook the men and said in a quick whisper, "They are coming, let all the women and fathers of children go from here." The men and women held each other close for a second then the women ran to the houses or café's from which they had come.

A voice rang out from the other side of the barricade, "You at the barricade listen to this!" He shouted that the men had no chance and that they were wasting their lives. Enjolras' upper lip curled back over his teeth into a bestial snarl and with the passion of a lover declared, "Let us die facing our foes! Let others rise to take our place, until this Earth is FREE!"

Then the shooting started. Muskets discharged on both sides sending puffs of smoke up, and men began to fall. I ran to the barricade and hoisted myself over the top to get a look at the army. My heart dropped to my feet with a horrifying realization: there were too many for the rebels to win. I fell over the barricade and tried to grab Marius, and failed but that only made me angrier. With tears in my eyes, I shouted over the din, "MARUIS YOU HAVE TO RUN! THERE ARE TOO MANY! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE, MARIUS!" More and men began to fall until it was just Marius, Enjolras and the old man, though I had hid himself under some ruble. "YOU BLOODY COWARD!" I screamed at him.

Then Marius was hit. He took a bullet to the shoulder and fell to the floor. "NO!" Enjolras screamed, and the sound was horrible because she had never heard Enjolras make such a sound. The old man crawled from the ruble and pulled Marius onto his back and began to slowly move away from the lowly barricade. Then Enjolras grabbed the red flag and began to wave it slowly and majestically as shots rang out it seemed like he had a guardian angel for no bullets touched him. Suddenly his knees buckled and he fell as I saw his shirt stained with vivid crimson.

There was a terrible moment of silence in which I could hear Enjolras take his last breaths before he became quite still. Even in death, he never let go of the red flag. Cheers filled the silence as the army celebrated their victory. "YOU BLOODY BASTARDS!" I screamed at them! Didn't they know that these men had families? That they had known lives? In that moment I felt the fierce passion that I'm sure Enjolras knew so well. I hated these men.

They slowly advanced towards the barricade and began to pick of the bodies and throw them into carts. The soldiers were not gentle and they striped some of the men of their clothes and tied them to horses and they dragged the dead to the sewers.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Meetings

Walking numbly behind the cart, I followed the soldiers towards the sewers. I tried not to look too closely at the faces of the men, not to see the blank and hollow stares of the dead. Finally the men halted and two of them advanced forward to lift a grate from the street to gain entrance to the sewers. Then unceremoniously the soldiers dropped the bodies of the young revolutionaries into the sewers, with each body dropped, a sharp splash echoed eerily up the grate.

As they dumped the last bodies into the sewer, I made a split second decision and leapt into the grate, eyes screwed reflexively shut. My ears waited for a splash but none came. I opened my eyes tentatively and saw that I was standing in an ankle deep stream of muck. The water moved through my legs as if they were not there.

The sewers were like something from a nightmare: the walls reflecting shimmering pools of swirled emerald on the stone walls and the only light coming from above through the holes in the grate. The water was and eerie shade of green though as the water moved past the pile of dead it turned dark brown, washing away the blood.

Suddenly behind me I heard the sound of heavy footsteps splashing towards me. A hulking figure was advancing towards the men. As the figure came closer I realized it was a man, but not just any man. His face was one I knew well and I gasped as my father Monsieur Thenrandier sauntered closer. To me he always resembled that which comes of rats and snakes. His eyes were black a cruel like that of a rat, though the way he carried his body was like that of a viper, poised to strike. In the light of the sewers this strange appearance was magnified a hundred fold so he looked like something out of a nightmare.

He walked among the men often crouching to pull a gold tooth or ring off a reluctant finger. After tucking these stolen treasures into the pocket of his trousers, he would move on to his next victim. His maniacal laughs of glee echoed cunningly in the sewers as he stole of the bodies of dead and if it could the hair on my neck and arms would have prickled and I could not contain a tremble down my spine as he worked away.

Then I heard another set of footsteps, only these were slow, halting, and irregular. The person must be shuffling or limping to make such footfalls. My father heard these steps to and I could almost see his ears and nose twitching before he flung himself on top of the pile and lay still. The footsteps came closer until I could see that this man was huge, his silhouette bumpy and rounded. It wasn't until he came closer that I realized it was the old and, and he was silhouette was deformed because on his back hanging there like a sack was Marius.

I almost fell to my knees in gratitude and could have kissed the man. Though as he came closer my heart froze and plummeted. Marius' eyes were closed and his expression pinched in pain. He was still badly hurt and needed a doctor's care. The old man was sweating profusely and his breathing was harsh and labored. He laid Marius down carefully on top of another man to keep him out of the muck and began to shuffle back away.

As soon as his footsteps faded to nothing, my father stirred. His eyes found the new victim and he bent down for a closer inspection before reaching into Marius' pocket and producing a shiny golden pocket watch.

"Ah! So sad when to young die," My father said sarcastically, "I'll take this little toy! Your hearts no longer ticking but your watch sure is!" Like so many times my father was wrong. He was to obsessed with his treasure to see the rise and fall of the chest of Marius Pontmercy. With that my father scampered away his pocket jingling absurdly into the darkness, the opposite way the old man had shuffled.

I knelt down by Marius and thought to myself how frail and broken he looked. His usually crisp shirt was stiff and red, speckled by blood. There was a hole above his left breast in the fabric of his shirt and blood oozed slowly out, thick and red. The skin around the wound was angry and puckered. Thankfully the bullet had missed his heart, but blood was blood and he was running out.

I reached out my hand slowly as if to place it over the wound. Then I leaned forward towards his ear, closed my eyes and whispered, "Marius be strong. Don't give in. Remember Cosette! She loves you! Be strong for her. Live for Cosette. You love her. Stay strong and don't let go. Stay with me Marius," tears began to spill down my cheeks, "You stayed with me, now I'll return the favor. I'm here Marius, I'm not going to leave and neither are you! I love you, Marius! Don't leave."

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes slowly and look up towards the ceiling towards the light of the stars above. I spoke loud and help nothing back as I prayed, "Don't you dare let him die. You let me die, but you will NOT take him. He has so much to live for. He is loved. He has a future that he should see. Don't you dare, don't you DARE let him die!" Then the shuffling returned.

The old man had returned only this time he was carrying a wadded ball of cloth and a bottle of spirits. He crouched next to me directly in front of Marius and began to carefully remove the boy's shirt, baring his chest. Marius gasped unconsciously as the man pulled it away from him, ripping away the fabric that had begun to dry to the wound. The wound looked much worse, the area around the wound purple and flecked with tiny dots of red. The man upturned the bottle over the bullet wound and Marius flinched. Then the man swiftly pressed some of the ball over the wound and unwound the rest of the cloth to secure the wad in place tightly.

Then he stood atop the bodies and pushed the grate away. Once this was done, he heaved Marius onto his back I now I gasped. As he lifted Marius up, muscles as think as my arm rippled under his shirt. He had to be twenty years older than the oldest man dead but he was possibly stronger than all of the men combined. The man pushed Marius through the grate and then heaved himself upwards.

I realized that with nothing to grab onto I would not be able to leave. Terrified at the possibility of having to spend another minute in these sewers I leapt straight up and landed on my feet next to the hole were the old man had begun to replace the grate. I looked down and realized that I had just jumped at least 5 feet UP. I shrugged it off as some strange ghost thing. As I looked up at the sky I realized that black clouds were beginning to form, covering the moon, dark and foreboding. He shuffled for a while in the shadows before he reached a bridge over a river. The first flash of lightning revealed a tall figure standing in the middle of the bridge. The old man froze as he saw the hard face of Inspector Javert.

**A/N: Such a dramatic entrance for Javert! Cue ominous music. Ok, sorry this one took a little longer than usual, but I didn't get around to actually typing it until today, while I have had it all written out for a couple days now. Please review because I love your feedback. As far as the story goes I have it all the major events planned out in my head though the real challenge is getting the characters, as I like to say, 'From point A to point B'. **


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